Mommy knows best.... Or does she?!

As I was snuggling with my beauties tonight, as I have done almost every single night for the past 7 1/2 years, I began to wonder if anyone else came to snuggle with Robert, Hannah, and Wesley, would know just what they like and how they fall asleep. And after this thought, I began to realize just how very different each and everyone of them are - An Individual made in the image and likeness of God. A little person with their very own set of likes and dislikes. A unique child that is like no other.....

Little Robert likes to sleep with his blue fuzzy blanket and Little R, his monkey friend that he has had for the past 5 years. When he first gets into bed, he likes to read, this is slowly transitioning into him reading to me, which I adore. After this, he rolls onto his right side and fall asleep within 5 or so minutes. He likes for me just to be next to him as he drifts into dreamland. Unlike the others, I can not have an arm or leg draped over him. But, if I leave too soon after he falls asleep, he will wake up and not go back to sleep until I snuggle again!

Hannah will read until I get there, but once I arrive, she is ready to go to sleep. We turn off the lights and get cozy into her bed where she has to have her horse sheets, comforter, and pillow. Then she must be covered by her pink flower blanket and finally her striped blanket. Finally, against the wall are her 30+ 'aminals' that join her nightly. Unlike her older brother, she must have my leg over her. if it is not there, she will fight sleep even more than she already does. Once she settles down, the battle begins - her eyes will begin to flutter and just as they are closing, they are wide open. This goes on for a bit with the amount of time her eyes are closed increasing everytime until finally, they are closed... UNTIL I get out of bed! At this point they open with a jolt and she becomes very confused, scared, and disoriented - night after night! Once I promise to come back, she calms down and I move onto Wesley....

Wesley is our wild child and is quite difficult to get to sleep - thus, the reason he is last to snuggle with! Before I come to him, he will sit in his bed and just 'read' books and talk to himself or his animals. Once I arrive and get into his toddler bed - a.k.a. a wood bed frame with a crib mattress - the real antics begin. He will wiggle and squirm. He will sing and talk. He will smack his lips and clear his throat ---> NON-STOP until Daddy comes in for a chat/you better settle down and go to sleep or else speech! After daddy leaves, he will settle down and only whisper while he shakes his legs and wiggles his fingers. This will go on and on and on, until suddenly, he is still and quiet. Wesley goes and goes and goes until he will literally drop and fall asleep in seconds! As soon as this occurs, I am free to get up and go about the rest of my evening!

As I was thinking about this tonight, it hit home just how unique and individual each and every child is. How what works for Robert will not work for Hannah and Wesley and so on. I have really realized this with discipline and bad behavior as well lately. With Hannah, all you have to do is tell her that you are disappointed and the tears begin and she will immediately change the behavior. If I tried that with the boys, they would shrug their shoulders and continue.

I pray that as this journey of parenting Robert, Hannah, and Wesley continues, that God can lead me, guide me, and give me the wisdom to be attentive to each of their individual needs. That I can know what will work to correct behaviors. That I can find what teaching method each needs as we continue on this homeschooling journey. That I will always be there in a time of need with whatever that individual child might need.

I also pray that I will never lose sight that these beautiful, unique, individuals that God has entrusted us with, that they are ultimately His children and I should always thank him, even in the hardest times, for the gift of Robert, Hannah, and Wesley as I am so undeserving of this most incredible gift......

Wesley's Trip to the Dentist

We are very lucky that Wesley only has 2 very minor, very fixable issues as a result of his early arrival:
1.) He has a speech delay - not in his comprehension/language, but in his articulation of sounds.
~ and ~
2.) He has very little enamel spread sporadically throughout his mouth, resulting in decay/cavities of his molars... regardless of how often/well we brush and floss.

Today was his second of four visits to repair and fix all of his teeth. Our current dentist repairs one tooth at a time, using nitrous oxide. During our consult about the repair, we were very concerned that Wesley would NOT stay still. They told us that there is the option of a papoose should that happen, but they rarely use that. And should that not work, the child would be referred out to a dentist that uses anesthesia/sedation. When Hannah had her teeth repaired (she also has very little enamel most likely because she was born at 35wks), she was given a "cocktail" of meds that made her pass out. I carried her to a room where she was placed on the papoose board with monitors and given nitrous oxide. During this single visit, the dentist repaired all of her issues. It was nice to have it done at one time, but it was also VERY nerve wracking experience.

Wesley's 'elephant nose' He LOVES it!

So, when it came time for our very first visit, I was expecting it to be a complete disaster. I was betting on the fact that Wesley would wind up in the papoose (for safety reasons only) and, most likely, being referred out. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect his to do great, but he did! During the shots he did not even flinch - I don't even think he knew that something was going on! About halfway through, she turned off the nitrous because he was acting as if he might throw up. From this point on, he became a bit antsy and fussy, and by the time she was finished, he was inconsolable and remained that was for almost 2 hours - it absolutely broke my heart and made me want to cancel all of the remaining appointments.....

Fast forward to today. Having done this before, he knew what was going to happen. This had me very anxious as I knew today could go either way, but once again, my wee man proved me wrong! This time, he was a little more fussy throughout the entire time, but was still awesome. The dentist turned off the nitrous a few minutes before she was through and, once again, he became a bit antsy and fussy until all was done. But, unlike last time, once I held him, he was done fussing and walked out on his own 2 feet - drooling and smiling!

She is amazing!

I am super impressed with not only our youngest, but the dentist. From the time we left the house to the time we pulled back into the driveway was about 45min! Her portion - from getting into the procedure chair to leaving was a whopping 9min - I timed it!



Only 2 more to go, and I am sure they will be just as good as the first 2! 

One of the MANY Joys of Homeschooling

About once a week, we pack up our school and take it to the library to do. Today however, we went to a different library that not only had books and videos, but blocks, costumes, a giant abacus, and puzzles as well! I am not sure who was more excited to see this as it proved a great bribe incentive for the kiddos to finish their work. There were also Popular Mechanics for Kids videos - our obsession and another great incentive!

The kiddos did a great job with their science, math, and spelling/handwriting while there and as promised, once they were finished, playtime *quietly* began!

Mr. Wesley the Cow!

 

 

 

Lil' Robert really enjoyed the abacus!

Hannah and Wesley building!

Lil' Robert building.

The finished house!

Hannah LOVES the puzzle tables!

Robert built a tower taller than himself!

We left it cleaner than when we found it!

Shot Day

Since our kiddos birthdays are so close, I always schedule their well child visits together. On these days, I have never had more than 1 child get shots. So, when I scheduled all 3 to get their seasonal flu vaccines and for the older 2 to get their varicella, I thought it would be no big deal.... Boy was I wrong!

Hiding in hopes they would not get shots!

We started with Lil' Robert. I was sure that he would do fine since last year, he did not flinch during his flu shot. Well, as soon as he sat in my lap and I wrapped my legs around his and bear hugged him, the screaming began - way before the needle touched his skin! By the time the shot began he was absolutely hysterical and requiring another person to come in and help. After the first, he calmed just enough to where I could love him without him fighting me.... and then he realized there was another one coming. At this point, Lil' Robert and Hannah were in tears screaming for their life. Meanwhile, Wesley just sat in the chair with his eyes HUGE watching what was going on. This entire scenario with Lil' Robert lasted all of a minute, but felt like a solid 10 minutes.

Mommy got one as well and did NOT cry!

Once Lil' Robert was done, the nurse left just long enough for everyone to calm down and prepare for round #2. No sooner had the nurse walked through the door and Hannah let out her ear piercing screams and Lil' Robert went into hysterics again. We had to hold Hannah still and keep Lil' Robert away because he wanted to protect his sister at all costs - even if that meant getting in the nurses way! The only saving grace with Hannah is that she received them in her thighs, so it took a whopping 30 seconds from start to finish. Once the nurse was done, she gave Hannah a tissue and took her to get a sticker - she returned happy as a lark with the nurse ready for the youngest Riker!

Our absolute favorite doctor - he has taken care of Daddy, Mommy, and Lil' Robert since August '05 and Hannah and Wesley since conception. An incredible man!

Wesley sat on the table with his thigh exposed. We were talking to him and telling him what was going to happen and before we knew it, the nurse was done. No scream. No tears. No movement. NOTHING. Wesley sat perfectly still and did not make a sound! We were all a bit incredibly shocked!

Afterwards, we took them to Chick-fil-A for some nuggets and ice cream!

Yummo!